It’s that time of year again! I will be participating once again in our annual studio tour this weekend. Details are available at http://www.welcomebacktootterville.ca, or you can rely on what I’ve posted here and pick up a postcard when you arrive at my gallery. The postcards look like this and have a map and list […]
Welcome Back 2022 — LIANNE TODD
The above is from my other website and blog, inviting all interested parties to join us this weekend for our annual studio tour.
I am pleased to let you know we are indeed holding our Oxford Studio Tour this year, after a 2 year hiatus. It will be on April 30 and May 1, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Information can be found at the tour’s website, oxfordstudiotour.ca, as usual. We all have lots of art to show you, and you can have fun with your family or close friends driving around Oxford County to see it. Maybe you’ll want to have a chat with some of the artists, or even purchase an original piece for that spot in your surroundings you wish had a little something special.
Here I am with a couple of my original pieces:
I look forward to welcoming you at my home studio/gallery location, which is Location #3 on the tour, in Otterville. Red signs will direct you to tour locations. If you need a map, they are available at the website. For a brochure, you may contact me to mail you one, or just pick a location to start at – all artists will have some available.
I just realized today it’s been a whole year since I posted in this blog. I am sure you can guess what is mainly to blame. Yes, what with exhibitions and tours canceled, and inspiration flailing for a while, there hasn’t been a lot of activity to report. I created a few fractals early last spring, and was going to post about them right before they were supposed to be shown in April…
I’ve been keeping myself very busy in the meantime, never fear. Just not blogging!
This would have been Welcome Back to Otterville weekend in a normal year. I thought today would be a good time to let you all know I am still here, I do have art available, (see my home page), and if you wish to purchase any (for that extra special gift or any other reason), it can indeed be arranged. Just use the contact page on this website.
I may as well show you a couple of these new fractals, right?
I think these two speak to our wondering ancient minds, our need for sacred rites and for forbidden places.
Sacred Tree. Digital fractal art printed on metal, single print. 24×32″. $550.00. Artist Lianne Todd.
Forbidden Forest. Digital Fractal Art printed on metal, single print. 18×24″. $400.00. Artist Lianne Todd
Today I will be setting up at South Gate Centre in Woodstock in preparation for this weekend’s Oxford Creates Art Expo, organized by Oxford Creative Connections, Inc. I will have several of my newest watercolour paintings available there, as well as a sampling of my fractal pieces. There will be many other artists, as well as authors, exhibiting at this show.
In two weeks, I will be opening my own gallery/studio doors to welcome the public for our 23rd annual studio tour here in Otterville: Welcome Back to Otterville. This will feature a much larger selection of my own work. We have a very good variety of stops this year with several new artisans! I will post again soon with more details about that.
For now, here are the details of both shows:
For even more information:
Oxford Creates: https://oxfordcreativeconnections.com/oxford-creates/
Welcome Back To Otterville: https://www.welcomebacktootterville.ca/
I’ve done a post about this on my other blog – so I will just link you to that here!
But I know a picture is worth a thousand words, so here are my entries in the Westland Gallery’s Square Foot Show of 2018:
Frog Pond. Digital Fractal Art HD printed on metal. Single Print. 12×12″. $300.00. Artist Lianne Todd.
I hope you enjoy the above fractal piece. It is printed in high definition on metal, with a very glossy finish. I hadn’t tried this kind of print before and I am quite pleased with how it turned out. It doesn’t have the metallic sheen that changes with the light, like my other metal prints do, but that suits this image really well. As usual, I only do one print per image, so all pieces are originals in every sense of the word. I had a lot of fun creating this one, seeing all the different things in it that caused me to name it “Frog Pond”. Do you see them too? Please feel free to comment on what you see – I’m curious!
Kitchen Alcove, Il Convente dei Carmine. Watercolour on Paper. 6.25×6.25″. SOLD. Private Collection. Artist Lianne Todd.
World Views. Watercolour on Gold Absorbent Ground on Canvas. 12×12″. SOLD. Private Collection. Artist Lianne Todd.
I’ll be at the Art in the Park in Woodstock with some of my other work this Saturday. More about that tomorrow!
Thank you to all who came out on the weekend for the 11th Annual Oxford Studio Tour, and welcome new subscribers! I just wrote a post for my other blog, which is on my watercolour site, and I wanted to make sure it reached all my followers for both sites. So, if you’ve already seen it, please go on about your day. If not, here it is: New Eyes!
Before I begin to introduce this new piece, I would like to thank all of the nice people who visited my studio/gallery this past weekend for the Oxford Studio Tour, and showed such fascinated interest in my fractal art. You really do help me keep the inspiration fresh!
As you may know, clouds exhibit fractal geometry. Mandelbrot’s famous quote:
is certainly a confirmation of that if you needed it. That quote is from the very first paragraph of his book The Fractal Geometry of Nature and he discusses the topic in several places throughout it.
I took the photo of these clouds at sunset one evening here in Otterville. Living down close to the historic mill in this little town, we don’t always get the best view of sunsets, but every now and then there is a spectacular one that must be photographed. And of course since I am interested in the cloud geometry, I also like the way it is highlighted by the colours.
It seemed like a very natural place for this fractal, created in Oxidizer, to occupy. The shape immediately brought to mind something happening in the sky, perhaps a place Zeus would be. There was an obvious (to me) song title that came to mind too, and perhaps you can guess what it was, or maybe not. But it didn’t quite interpret this the way I wanted, and I was stumped for a while trying to think of a title. I liked the little spirals and the curved shapes reminded me of somersaults, and I still felt there was a musical component.
After having it printed on acrylic, and hanging it on my gallery wall, I showed it to my son, and asked him what he thought I should call it. It didn’t take him very long to say “Aerials” and although the word on its own is ideal, I immediately knew he was referring to the song by System of a Down. It is on their Toxicity album. I confess I only know it (and all the other metal that I like) because of my son, but it is truly one of my favourite songs of all, and I hope they don’t mind me naming this piece of art after their music. I agreed with him that it is the perfect title. I don’t know why I didn’t think of it myself. My suggestion is that you first go find and read the lyrics. Then listen to the song. I think you might agree too.
Aerials. Digital fractal art printed on acrylic, single edition. 20×20″. Artist Lianne Todd. $375.00
It has been a while since I’ve blogged about any new pieces here… I was focusing on my traditional watercolours for the winter, although I did have a piece or two I hadn’t introduced.
For instance, there is this one which I called ‘Swiftly Tilting’. I had just read the whole Madeleine L’Engle series for the first time, so this image conjured up that title – you can imagine why! This is another one of my hand-painted pieces of fractal art – a watercolour on Aquabord. (Image here is watermarked). It is in a handmade black shadow-box frame (not shown).
Swiftly Tilting. Watercolour on Aquabord. 6×6″. Lianne Todd. $175.00
I’ve created THREE new pieces that will be ready for visitors to see on the Oxford Studio Tour! It’s May 6 & 7 this year, and it is our 10th year for the tour! I am Stop #3 this time. I will be keeping the new pieces, (2 metal prints, 1 acrylic print) under wraps until the tour, because sometimes it is just better if people have the chance to see the art in person first.
Earlier this year, I was the one updating our website with all of this year’s locations, artist blurbs, sample art images, and maps. It’s going to be a great tour, and there are even more reasons to come to Oxford County what with part of Big Cheese Days happening the Saturday of that weekend too! Gunns Hill is right on the way down to Otterville from the 401 and their cheese is delicious!
It has been a very busy year of creating and exhibiting so far, and I hope that continues. I look forward to the tour, and to a more active year of blogging about my art too!
It is time again for those of us who are artists, artisans and specialty shopkeepers in the little town of Otterville, to open our doors and welcome visitors from all over Southwestern Ontario. This is our 20th year holding Welcome Back to Otterville, a studio tour that was founded by my good friend Sue Goossens years before I moved here, and continues to change and evolve as do the participants.
A press release for our tour follows – please feel free to publish the release as we are on a limited advertising budget! We are very grateful to Ashlyn Kernaghan for writing this up for us.
Welcome Back to Otterville Studio Tour Celebrates 20 Years
By Ashlyn Kernaghan
Glendale Student
On the weekend of November 19th and 20th, the artists and crafters who call the historic village of Otterville home will be opening up their doors for the 20th annual studio tour. Visit Otterville and browse through unique shops and studios. Meet the artists and experience a world of creativity. Studios and shops are open from 10am – 5pm and each day and the event is absolutely free to attend.
This year the studio tour includes 6 local artists – watercolours, oils, acrylics and mixed media – who will showcase the best of their best throughout the weekend in their homes or studios. The participating artists include Mae Leonard, Lianne Todd, Linda Hoffman, Trudy Verberne, Shirley Hokke, and Sue Goossens. In Bloom Designs featuring the jewellery of Jillian Driedger will be in the old general store in Hawtrey. Ralph Moore & Sons has a large selection of bird seed and feeders and all things bird! Shawn Pinnoy, owner of Styx and Skids, and Nordale Woodworking are new to the tour this year. Shawn Pinnoy creates up-cycled decor including wreaths, bird houses, barn board signs and much more. Nordale Woodworking, owned by Bryan Mertens, specializes in the production and sales of solid wood furniture and outdoor poly lawn furniture. Nordale Woodworking is open all year.
All participants on the tour live in Otterville and area and create their own unique products or own a shop in town. The event has evolved throughout the past 20 years with three of the original participants still on the tour – Sue Goossens, Linda Hoffman and Shirley Hokke.
“Artists truly enjoy meeting new visitors, old friends and sharing their passion for the arts.”
“Each year the tour attracts visitors from all over Southwestern Ontario from Windsor to Toronto,” said tour organizer Goossens. “People are always impressed with the quality of the artwork that is available. We have the reputation of having many accomplished artists in Otterville.”
This self-directed tour provides the opportunity to personally explore the creative approach of various artists, along with the chance to wrap up some Christmas shopping. Tour participants can visit as few or as many of the artists as they wish, over one or both days. The Otter Creek Golf Course club house will be open for lunch Saturday and Sunday.
Welcome Back to Otterville brochures and maps can be found at participating sites, the Station Arts Centre in Tillsonburg, and online at http://www.welcomebacktootterville.ca. Look for yellow flags that mark the studios.
Styx and Skids is not on the map, but can be found just around the corner from Linda Hoffman’s studio, on Grove St.
For more information call 519-879-6352 or visit www.welcomebacktootterville.ca
Here is the map of the tour. Hope you can make it out!
It came to my attention recently that my site was not terribly friendly for those who are unaccustomed to reading blogs, and that I should make the images of my work more accessible to the attention span of the casual visitor. So, I spent a little time the other day doing just that. The home page is now a static gallery of my fractal work, and the blog has its own new page on the menu. Please have a look at the newly designed site – is there anything that you as a viewer would suggest to improve it? I am open to suggestion – although there are of course limits to what I can do since I am using a template.
Now, it’s time for me to introduce another fractal that you may not have seen yet. I’ve exhibited it already but you may have missed it. This one was difficult to title. What I saw in it first, changed for me, until I was seeing it a number of different ways. Perhaps that is why it appeals to me so much. I decided it deserved a name fitting its ‘behaviour’, one that would allow the viewer to perceive it their own way as well. So, I called it “Indeterminate”. This image is a small watermarked version of the digital image used to create the piece of art, as photographing the final art printed on acrylic proves difficult with all the reflections. If you’d like to tell me what you see in it, I would love to hear – but please do it in a private message using the contact page. I would like all viewers to see it with fresh eyes uninfluenced by the perceptions of others!
Indeterminate. Fractal Digital Image. Available as an original single edition print on acrylic, 20×20″. Artist Lianne Todd. $375.00
FractaLiArt 